When you see the painting by Grant Wood's what do you see? I'll tell you what you see. At first glance you see a Revival Gothic style window. This one artifact is what drew the artist to create his version of American Gothic. To him it stood out because it was in a rural area of Iowa. The painting represents the 19th century era of American Colonial period. The woman is not classified as the farmers wife or daughter. The Lady in question is wearing a 19th century apron. The flowers in the background suggest that she's a domesticated housewife. They seem to be role playing. Her face is sort of dull, which to me suggest that she doesnt have to many rights to express herself. Woman at that time weren't as domesticated as today's women. She probably didnt have any outside priorities but to take care of home and maintain the children. Now when you notice the man he seems to be bored and worn down. He is an out doorsmen, preferably a farmer, I got this impression because he has a farmer's jumpsuit, holding a pitchfork. A pitchfork symbolizes hard worker, manual labor. DIdnt really use machinery back in those times. This painting was made in 1930's. The man in the painting is looking straight ahead, where her eyes are not even focused to take the pic Its showman ship suggest that it was a parody for Americans who were coming out of a very dark era in American history known as The Great Depression, it meant gaining power.
Now when you take a glance or long hard stare at Gordon Park's version of American Gothic, photographed in 1942. From the story I was told, Gordon Parks is an African American renaissance man. He did everything from writing essays, photography, for vogue and he was a frequent in the civil rights movement. While in Washington, DC, he came up with the idea to do the photo due to countless encounters of Racism he received by working in the district. He received racism from restaurants and shop owners. Later on in the year he met a female worker named Ella Watson to pose for his photograph. Instead of the subject posing infront of a house. it is her alone at her work station in front of an American Flag. Its a single shot, no one is in the picture with her. She is in proper attire for a her profession, a maintainence worker. Unlike Wood's subject she is holding a mop and broom, she has a masculine look to her facial appearance. To me she represents singularity. whereas Wood's suggest a classical family foundation with a man and woman together. She is alone it kind of represents changes of time between men and women, black and white.
Although they appear to be very different and from different time periods they both hold a significnce in American history. Woods painting was invented from the Great Depression era, where Blacks really didnt have equal rights like Whites. Park's picture suggest the struggle that Blacks go through at that period of time. This time sparked the Civil Rights Movement and the beginning of World War II which stemmed from the Great Depression. Both artist choose to express themselves differently with the same views in mind. It represents men, women, country, city, state,equality for all people. Both pictures are worth a thousand words, though parodies we can only draw our own interpretaion of the subjects at hand. In both pictures their are atleast a woman, both are patriotic and shows it in a different variations. They both show the suppression of women. None of the subjects in neither picture appear to be happy, all facial expressions are blank and bare so that you the viewer can draw your own conclusion about how they felt whether it was photographed or painted. The gender role changed. In Wood's painting the man is wearing the pants, whereas Park's female subject is wearing the pants and holding a domesticated wife's utensils, a broom and mop.
As you can see there are many things that distingushes the men from the works of art, one thing we can say they share one common interest, they both had something to say and express to viewers about what was happening in their lives at that point in time. Whether it was racial equality or a sexist society, where women stayed home to tend house, or being verbally asaulted because you were born under a different coating of skin. What both of them had to say is truly remarkable and have people from my generation and beyond contemplating is my what a long way, we as a people have come along.
When you see the painting by Grant Wood's what do you see? I'll tell you what you see. At first glance you see a Revival Gothic style window. This one artifact is what drew the artist to create his version of American Gothic. To him it stood out because it was in a rural area of Iowa. The painting represents the 19th century era of American Colonial period. The woman is not classified as the farmers wife or daughter. The Lady in question is wearing a 19th century apron. The flowers in the background suggest that she's a domesticated housewife. They seem to be role playing. Her face is sort of dull, which to me suggest that she doesnt have to many rights to express herself. Woman at that time weren't as domesticated as today's women. She probably didnt have any outside priorities but to take care of home and maintain the children. Now when you notice the man he seems to be bored and worn down. He is an out doorsmen, preferably a farmer, I got this impression because he has a farmer's jumpsuit, holding a pitchfork. A pitchfork symbolizes hard worker, manual labor. DIdnt really use machinery back in those times. This painting was made in 1930's. The man in the painting is looking straight ahead, where her eyes are not even focused to take the pic Its showman ship suggest that it was a parody for Americans who were coming out of a very dark era in American history known as The Great Depression, it meant gaining power.
Now when you take a glance or long hard stare at Gordon Park's version of American Gothic, photographed in 1942. From the story I was told, Gordon Parks is an African American renaissance man. He did everything from writing essays, photography, for vogue and he was a frequent in the civil rights movement. While in Washington, DC, he came up with the idea to do the photo due to countless encounters of Racism he received by working in the district. He received racism from restaurants and shop owners. Later on in the year he met a female worker named Ella Watson to pose for his photograph. Instead of the subject posing infront of a house. it is her alone at her work station in front of an American Flag. Its a single shot, no one is in the picture with her. She is in proper attire for a her profession, a maintainence worker. Unlike Wood's subject she is holding a mop and broom, she has a masculine look to her facial appearance. To me she represents singularity. whereas Wood's suggest a classical family foundation with a man and woman together. She is alone it kind of represents changes of time between men and women, black and white.
Although they appear to be very different and from different time periods they both hold a significnce in American history. Woods painting was invented from the Great Depression era, where Blacks really didnt have equal rights like Whites. Park's picture suggest the struggle that Blacks go through at that period of time. This time sparked the Civil Rights Movement and the beginning of World War II which stemmed from the Great Depression. Both artist choose to express themselves differently with the same views in mind. It represents men, women, country, city, state,equality for all people. Both pictures are worth a thousand words, though parodies we can only draw our own interpretaion of the subjects at hand. In both pictures their are atleast a woman, both are patriotic and shows it in a different variations. They both show the suppression of women. None of the subjects in neither picture appear to be happy, all facial expressions are blank and bare so that you the viewer can draw your own conclusion about how they felt whether it was photographed or painted. The gender role changed. In Wood's painting the man is wearing the pants, whereas Park's female subject is wearing the pants and holding a domesticated wife's utensils, a broom and mop.
As you can see there are many things that distingushes the men from the works of art, one thing we can say they share one common interest, they both had something to say and express to viewers about what was happening in their lives at that point in time. Whether it was racial equality or a sexist society, where women stayed home to tend house, or being verbally asaulted because you were born under a different coating of skin. What both of them had to say is truly remarkable and have people from my generation and beyond contemplating is my what a long way, we as a people have come along.